Fulham defender Calvin Bassey has urged his teammates to stay united and follow Marco Silva’s instructions closely as they prepare for a difficult Premier League encounter against Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The Cottagers travel to Merseyside looking to end a difficult run after losing their opening three league matches of the season.
Fulham suffered a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland last weekend and will now face a Liverpool side that has remained unbeaten in the league so far this campaign.
Bassey has started every Premier League match for Fulham this season and has continued to play an important role in the club’s defence.
The Nigeria international knows the scale of the challenge awaiting his side but believes careful preparation could give them a chance of getting a positive result at Anfield.
“It’s not going to be easy,” Bassey told the club’s website.
“You know what’s coming when you play Liverpool; they have top players. It’s just about doing our homework and seeing how we can hurt them.”
Fulham have struggled to find consistency in their opening fixtures, with defeats to Chelsea and Crystal Palace coming after they were unable to score more goals than their opponents before Sunderland’s disciplined defence proved too difficult to break down.
Bassey revealed that the players have been working closely with Silva to understand what needs to improve, while also stressing the importance of carrying out the manager’s instructions on the pitch.
“We talk with the manager about everything that might not have worked, and try and go into every game understanding more what he wants from us individually as players.”
“He’ll set us up in the right way to tackle Liverpool.”
The Super Eagles defender will once again be expected to play a key role at the heart of Fulham’s defence as they attempt to secure their first Premier League points of the season at one of the toughest grounds in English football.